Dozens rally in Kabul against Iran’s president

KABUL (Pajhwok): Dozens of people staged a protest demonstration in Kabul against Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s recent remarks about dams’ construction in Afghanistan.

President Rouhani has voiced concern at the Afghan government’s plans to build more dams on the country’s rivers for agriculture development and electricity production.

Rouhani, during an international conference last week in Tehran, the capital of Iran, said: “Dams’ construction in Afghanistan and Sistan-Baluchestan Province (in Iran) play a role in the desiccation of rivers.”

Rouhani further added that “people will be forced to leave their homes; civilizations will be destroyed.” More than a hundred members of Hezb-i-Musharikat Milli (HMM) led by Najibullah Kabuli carried out a protest march from Shahr-i-Naw Park area until the vicinity of the Iranian Embassy in Kabul.

Najibullah Kabuli, addressing the demonstrators, said: “Iran equip and train terrorists, Taliban and Haqqani Network besides persuading some political circles within the Afghan government through financial support.”

Earlier similar rallies were carried out by civil society organizations against the Iranian president’s remarks. The protesters had suggested solution to the water issue through diplomatic channels and had asked Rouhani to apologize to the Afghans.

According to civil society institutes, the Afghan government should accelerate work on Kajaki, Salma, Kamal Khan and Bakhshabad hydropower dams, besides ensuring their full security as people stood by their security forces in defending of the country and its interests.